The United States of America is known as the “Land of the free.” Yet, arguably, it is the most willing nation to imprison its citizens. The criminal justice system of this nation is increasingly unpredictable and severe, despite the knowledge that most of the severity is illogical. Justice in the United States is harsher than that of any other developed country, and than many developing countries. Over two million Americans are currently behind bars, and that number is greatly increased when those on probation and parole are factored in. Mandatory minimums, “three strikes” laws, and other harsh policies have led the criminal justice system to be at an unprecedented level of harshness. People are being incarcerated for too long, and for crimes that do not warrant such jarring consequences. There are an abundance of petty laws that many are not even aware are crimes. Technical violations of federal laws gain people years behind bars. Politicians have perpetuated a fear of high violent crime rates, and this has led to a demand by voters for more severe sentencing and punishments. No politicians want to be known as being soft on crime, so harsh laws are not made more reasonable, and often more laws are added. The War on Drugs, which began in the 1970s, caused arrest rates to rise astronomically, and effectively criminalized, to the fullest extent, even the softest drugs. It also disproportionately affected African Americans. The War on Drugs led to harsh sentences for both illegal drugs, and prescription drugs. Emphasis was purposely placed on crack cocaine, which was mostly used by African Americans. Although African Americans make up a small fraction of the total United States population, they make up over half of the American prison population. Petty drug dealers locked up during this period are still incarcerated, and many of their sentences are nowhere close to being over. Twenty eight states have laws that stop giving habitual offenders chances after their third crime. The three strikes statute requires a life sentence if a previously convicted felon has been convicted in a federal court for a violent crime, or has two or more previous convictions in a state or federal court for other violent crimes. For example, a felon with two prior convictions could do something as petty and small as stealing something worth ten dollars from a gas station, and receive a fifty year sentence for that, due to his other two felonies. These “three strikes” laws have not been effective in the deterrence of violent crime. Mandatory minimum sentencing sets out predefined sentences for crimes, thus taking judges’ power to take the circumstances of the crime into account. Certain crimes are viewed as too wicked to allow the defendant any leniency, whatsoever, and for judges to have any discretion over the punishment. These sentences have also proven to be inefficient in deterring the committing of violent crime.
The first era of mass incarceration began shortly after the abolishment of slavery in 1865. Laws that required African Americans to do things that were virtually impossible for someone just freed from slavery were passed with the intent of asserting continued white control over the lives of black people. All freedmen were required to have jobs, although it was incredibly difficult for blacks to find jobs. If not, they were faced with vagrancy charges. If they violated any sort of “vagrancy” laws or did anything deemed “insulting to a white person, they were often arrested and charged. The sentences for these petty crimes were often severe. These laws were heavily enforced upon black people and led to things like convict leasing, which basically was legal slavery of imprisoned black men. This was legal due to the fact that slavery was abolished by the thirteenth amendment, except for when used in the punishment of a crime. Black people were unfairly arrested and given fines, which they typically could not pay, and this led to them being indebted, leaving them subject to convict leasing. Incarceration rose exponentially during this period. This was the first era of mass incarceration. The criminal justice system was formulated in a manner that would purposely oppress African Americans, and lead to generations of struggles and inferiority, and that is what it has done.
The second era of mass incarceration began in the 1970s. Incarceration rates were following a steady ascending trend. Politicians began to spread fear of crime in the United States, thus leading to the increase of tough on crime platforms and rhetoric. Policies were created with the purpose of getting as many criminals off the street as possible so that people would feel safe. It succeeded in the first part, but not as much as the second. More and more people were being incarcerated, but the crime rhetoric was still a common theme, and the fear was not subsiding. This only caused more laws to be created which increased incarceration rates even more. Although the amount of crimes being committed have not increased, the amount of arrests has increased substantially along with a substantial increase in convictions and inmates.
SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF U.S. SOCIETY, CRIME, AND INCARCERATION
The United States was built on injustices and social inequalities, with there always being an inferior group and the superior group always taking advantage of this group. The institutionalized inequality of this country can be named as the root of both eras of mass incarceration that the country has faced. Jails and prisons are filled with majority minorities, and this further perpetuates a racial caste system in America, especially when these people are released, and cut off from all social benefits and stripped of their rights. Most of the people this happens to were already disadvantaged before ever even going to prison or jail. But the inequalities begin long before release from incarceration, and even before entering the criminal justice system. Class inequalities are evident as there are low levels of education prevalent in all jails and prisons. The job opportunities for those with lower levels of education are slim. There has been a sharp decline in the need for blue collar workers. This may lead to more crimes committed, but essentially the criminalization of marginalized groups and willingness of police to make arrests of these people play a larger role. Prison time has become a normal part of life for inner city African Americans, especially males. It has become expected because society has effectively criminalized the entire race, so high incarceration rates within it are not surprising. The amount of crimes being committed by marginalized races is not disproportionate to their size, but the amount of arrests is, as is the amount of those incarcerated. Poor minority males are seen as a threat to society, thus they are more harshly handled than other groups. These inequalities have always been present, but they became more prevalent during the second era of mass incarceration, or the past thirty years.